“Wagyu Beef” market research in Canada

Project Brief

A Japanese local government was encouraging their local Wagyu beef industry to export their products to North America. The region established a special Wagyu brand called “Iwate full-blood Wagyu”. As part of the exporting expansion plan, the local government decided to carry out some marketing research regarding the Canadian beef

market. However, due to Covid travel restrictions, they were unable to visit Canada to conduct the research, and as a result, they retained our firm to carry out this task.

Approach

Our Vancouver staff conducted primary research by visiting local supermarkets and specialized meat shops to gather information. Canadians consume much more beef as compared to Japanese consumers. There is also a significant difference in how the beef is prepared and consumed – Canadians like large steaks and roasts, whereas the Japanese prefer their beef pre-sliced for hot-pots or Korean BBQ. We also researched Wagyu beef produced outside of Japan as these products were the major competitor versus Japanese Wagyu beef. Our research included the following:

• · Beef consumption in Canada
• · Type of beef variety and cuts
• · Competitors -Wagyu beef producers in North America and Australia
• · Restrictions and regulations for exporting to Canada
• · Localization, branding, retail pricing
• · Logistics

Results

Our client shared the information with their regional Wagyu producers and meat exporters, and they developed a strategic marketing plan for expanding into the Canadian market.